Preferred Reg Cleaner?

I tried Iolo System Mechanic and it SCR3WED things up. Now, only deleting the Iolo Reg Keys will fix the prob N i havent gotten around to it. Are there any GOOD reg cleaners for XP Pro SP2?

 

Most (actually ALL) MSV techs say, "No." Leave registry cleaners alone... period. If you are not informed enough to go into the registry and work with it directly, you will only further complicate things with a registry cleaner.

 

I like RegSeeker, and use it regularly.

 

Easy Cleaner by Toni Arts. I've used it for YEARS. It's never failed me. So I guess, it under cleans rather than over cleans. I don't feel compelled to have to get rid of every dead entry; just enough to keep my computer running smoothly.

 

If the registry is enough of a mess to need "cleaned ", it is time to whip out the cd and reformat the OS partition, IMHO. XP has amazing powers of compensation, and in today's machines, registry cleaning just isn't very important. Yes, I could probably free up a few hundred MB of space by scrubbing it, but it won't make any difference in performance, and with today's better hardware, reclaiming space and resources isn't crucial. I have used both of the programs mentioned above, and they caused no problems, but I can't see any benefit to using them, either.

YMMV
Johanna

 

Johanna, I couldn't disagree with you more, but it may be because we differ in how we use our computers.

Because my computer is my hobby, and is not used for business of any kind, I do things that you might not. For instance, I constantly install newly discovered software programs to try them out. Then, more often than not, because they haven't met my expectations I uninstall them. And, it's an unusual program that removes all traces of itself from the registry when uninstalled.

If, as sometimes happens, the uninstall is done because the program isn't running properly, and the intent is to reinstall it, it's essential to remove all references to the program from the registry and start clean. With a program like Regseeker, it's easy.

I don't use RegSeeker to "vacuum" the registry, picking up everything that may or may not belong there. Instead, I have it search for references specific to the program that I've uninstalled, and it's amazing just how much stuff gets left behind.

Believe me, RegSeeker truly is a useful tool when used properly.

 

Well, I use one of my PC's as an audio workstation. besides audio stuff, the only thing installed is my fav game Day of Defeat. have any of youe ver tried working with audio? it punishes my system...i dont even have MS Office on it. My design rig is my primary workstation so it isnt all that important to keep it in brand-new condition.

 

Actually, Johanna, you'll be pleased to learn that the entire Microsoft MVPs agree with you to a man. Kelly and Alex were just commenting upon this very issue. With today's computers and operating systems, there is very, very little reason to employ registry cleaners. Windows XP handles its registry very well indeed. To be messing about with these cleaners rather than going in and doing the job manually is needless. But ... each to his own.

Just head on over to the Microsoft Windows XP General forum to verify that not a single MVP uses registry cleaners nor encourages others to do so.

 

Just stumbled across this thread and felt compelled to post. XP might be a great OS in many respects but I too, have a need for a registry cleaner that can follow behind and help me out. Sure, most of us are comfortable with manual registry editing but I'm no Microsoft MVP and I'll take whatever help I can get, albeit with some reservations. RegSeeker is a great program and I use it regularly but cautiously. At the same time, one of my all time favorites is a little app called RegCleaner which does a great job of picking up most all orphaned entries after something has been uninstalled and it does a much better job than I could ever hope to do with a manual search. And, based on my experience it does a better job than any manual search I've ever seen anybody do re: "orphaned leftovers ". I wouldn't think of being without this tool. Easy Cleaner, another good app, resides in all of my boxes and gets sporadic use - mostly for checking the overall cleanliness of my system. Lastly, (oh no here it comes) I still use Systemworks 2003 and although nothing runs in the backgound except AV, when I fire up a System Check, I let Norton clean whatever it wants to clean, including the registry. So, I guess thats 4 strikes against me in terms of the reported MVP balloting, but my equipment runs like its on steroids and I have no interest in making any changes just because thats what the "big boys" do.

 

Another vote for RegSeeker. It's never caused me a problem.

I don't want to get into the debate of whether or not registry cleaning is "necessary ", but for me it hasn't ever hurt anything. And my 400 MHz Pentium II running Win 2K needs all the help it can get.

 

JSS3rd

Well put. Every user has different needs. For example, many of the threads that Noahdfear works on REQUIRE registry cleaning to some degree.

You'd probably find some clutter in my registry, same as you would my purse or desk. But, I don't experiment with software like you do. I use tried and true software and programs, and when I "experiment" with malicious files and questionable software, I do it on my kids' comp, of course!


Rockster,
I have no doubt that your computers are lightning fast, and I would stand on my head and whistle Dixie if you told me to do any tweak that way. But, I also recognize that your computers are PUNISHED in ways mine will never be! If your favorite computer came to my house, it would think it was on a vacation. I also know that you could manually edit your registry, line by line, if you had the inclination. The reason I don't recommend registry cleaners to less experienced people is that they don't know what they are doing. In the hands of a user like you, registry cleaners can be time savers. If Grandma decides to run one, the results could be disastrous, with the irony of the reg cleaning not really being needed in the first place. Power users can benefit from reg cleaning, and are usually knowledgeable enough to create back ups, and then delete wisely. (Then there is the group that thinks they are savvy enough to stray from defaults...but that's another thread, and rant! )

Also, thank you for saying something positive about Norton. Many people here vilify Norton in any of its forms, and it was a treat to read something expressing a little faith in a Symantec product, especially since it was you that wrote it. I may even reinstall Norton Utilities this afternoon. I always did like Win Doctor!

Johanna

 

Johanna... you really don't want to do that. Surely not!

There's no way to actually prove the so-called benefit of having used these registry cleaners. You might think that the box is running more smoothly... quicker... when in fact there's been little or no change. Windows XP does an adequate job of looking after its own registry without the need for third party software... even for those installing and uninstalling programs. And should there be a time that the registry is so hopelessly befuddled then it would seem to me that this might be a time (as Johanna mentioned in her first post) to dig out the recovery/reformat cd and wipe the slate clean (after backing up of course).

I've been a member of the Windows newsgroups for several years now and I've yet to come across a single MVP recommending the use of a registry cleaner... particularly for Windows XP. As I said, just hop over to the Windows XP General discussion and do a search. Both Kelly and Alex Nichol were discussing this very issue about two weeks ago. Their recommendation was: avoid the use of registry cleaners. They do more harm than any perceived good.

Don't want to belabour this so I'll withdraw from the discussion. One of the phenomenons I've come to see over the past several years (participating in many different forums) is that those who constantly tweak and play with their boxes... adding program after program to "fine tune" or to protect (not against protection mind you, but the addition of dozens of anti-spyware this and that smacks of paranoia) frequently are also the ones whose computers are breaking down and in need of reformatting. It's just an observation mind you. I know of several who have never messed with their boxes and have never experienced the problems these others have encountered. There comes a point, it seems to me, when too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing.

 

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I agree with both.

I believe those two Quotes can be applied to Computers in general. Not just Reg Cleaning.

The COMBINATION of hardware, Software, Operating system ( and install of same), use of either. Then throw in the User him/herself and it can make a HUGH difference. I have three machines ( all self built ) and I can honestly vouch for that. What may work on this machine may kill ( or work with limited capabilities ) on my Wifes machine. And some of it may not work at all on the 3rd and older machine.

I have used RegSeeker on this machine ( XP Pro ) with good results ( so far ). I tested it on my Wifes' machine ( 98SE ) and it is a damned good thing I had made sure I had a backup which could be restored from a DOS boot from a Floppy.

I would just add to that. Before messing with the Registry, make darn sure you have and know how to use A BACKUP. Things can AND DO go wrong

Having backups and how to use them has been one of my major problems with some family and Friends PCs that I have helped ( or tried to ) keep in shape. One even asked me " What do I need backups for. All is working fine ? " The party that asked that question soon found out when he LOST about a years worth of pictures because he had everything on one C: drive and NO BACKUPS. He had a CDROM capable of burning backups too.

BillyBob

 

As the old adage goes, "one man's trash is another man's treasure ".

Once again, it all depends on how you use your computer. I'm not a gamer, at all, but I do a lot of image editing and, I admit it ... I'm a utility junkie.

Tried and true is great ... a solid foundation is essential but, for me, it's also the challenge of trying new programs (and I've been a beta tester on many) ... do they enable me to do something that I couldn't do before? Do they make my computing experience easier, more interesting, or more entertaining?

Half the fun in computing is trying new things (forget Luna Blue, Johanna ), whether they be tweaks to the GUI or new extensions in Firefox (apologies to those of you who are still using IE, and don't know what I'm talking about).

For the user like me, the ability to do some housecleaning in the registry is necessary, and RegSeeker is my utility of choice, but Norton? Noooooooooo!!!

Maybe Norton Utilities are aptly named, though ... Ed Norton was a sewer worker, after all (apologies to those too young to remember The Honeymooners).

 

Well I use registry cleaners and compact my registry on a regular basis. With the amount of cleaning and compacting I do, any detrimental effect would have shown up a long time ago! I've had none, and I'm talking many years!

Links to the same two that others recommend are in my sig. I use both one after the other, as well as the registry defragmenter ERUNT, which is especially usefull after cleaning a very "dirty" registry.